2023.0502 River City Slam NEWS

Sportable Hosts River City Slam June 8-11

RICHMOND, VA – (Tuesday, May 2, 2023) – Sportable, Central Virginia’s premier adaptive sports club, is proud to host the River City Slam Wheelchair Tennis Tournament June 8-11, 2023. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) Level 2 tournament will feature top-class players from across the country at Collegiate School’s Williams-Bollettieri Tennis Center on Robins Campus.

“As a national Level 2 wheelchair tennis tournament, we are thrilled that the River City Slam will be bigger and better than ever,” commented Hunter Leemon, Sportable Chief Executive Officer. “The new sanctioning will provide a more competitive atmosphere for some of the top wheelchair tennis players from across the country to compete at the national level. We encourage the RVA community to save the date for this prestigious event.”

The River City Slam is open to all levels, including first-time players, in divisions A, B, C, D, Quad Open, and Juniors. Over the last two years, the tournament has attracted nearly 100 players from 17 states spanning California to Virginia.

Top-flight player and last year’s Singles Champion Taylor Wingate (Rock Hill, SC) will return to lead Division A competition. One of the top juniors players in the U.S., 17-year old Mathias Krodel (Cincinnati, OH), is slated to compete again in the 18 & Under flight. Local players Ryan Beale (Richmond, VA), Chris Lamps (Richmond, VA), and Evan Wrinkle (Quinton, VA) will represent Team Sportable among others.

One of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world, wheelchair tennis is played on a standard tennis court in the same way as able-bodied tennis, with the only exception being that a wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball. The athlete’s wheelchair is considered to be a part of the body, so rules applying to the player’s body apply to the chair as well. Wheelchair tennis has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1992 and has been played at all four Grand Slams since 2007.

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